Folding toboggan



Feb. 3, 1953 W. H. PAG ELKOP F FOLDING TOBOGGAN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 20. 1948 Feb. 3, 1953 w; H. PAGELKOPF FOLDING TOBOGGAN 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 20, 1948 Patented Feb. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING TOBOGGAN William H. Pagelkopf, Chaska, Minn.

Application November 20, 1948, Serial No. 61,293

` (Cl. 28o- 18) 3 Claims. l

This invention relates to collapsible toboggans.

This is a continuation in part of my application Serial Number 778,974, filed October 9, 1947, now abandoned.

The invention is particularly adapted for use as a carrier for game such as deer and other relatively large animals which are frequently diicult to drag through the woods after they have been shot. It is a device which can be collapsed into a very compact unit which in turn can be placed in a knapsack and slung over the back of the hunter so that it can be easily carried when it is not in use.

Another use for the device is for carrying any articles such as supplies into remote wooded sections where there are no roads, thereby eliminating the arduous carrying of heavy packs of supplies.

A further use for the invention is as an ordinary toboggan, and in connection with this as well as when carrying supplies a readily removable combination carrying box and/or back rest is provided.

It is another object of the invention to provide a collapsible toboggan with means whereby game can be readily tied to it and a drag rope canrbe conveniently attached.

A further object is to provide a collapsible toboggan whose several sections are so articulated that it will travel regularly over rough terrain more or less following the contour of the ground, wherein the sections are so connected that a` certain amount of lateral bending is permitted to facilitate getting through heavy brush.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of one form oi the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 3--3 of Figure l and on an enlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the device in its collapsed position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

Figure '7 is a side elevational View thereof;

Figure 8 is a section taken approximately on the line 8 8 of Figure 6; v

Figure 9 is an enlarged side elevational' view of the structure in Figures 6 through i8 in'a` collapsed position.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the device partially collapsed and with a back rest or parcel carrier incorporated therewith;

Figure ll is a side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 10;

Figure l2 is a perspective view of the parcel carrier or back rest attachment; and

Figure 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a bracket for holding the nose section of the device shown in Figures 11 and 12.

The device in Figures l through 4 includes a rear section I5 having upwardly directed side edges illustrated as angle irons I5 secured to the section I5 by rivets I'I. The longitudinal central portion of the rear section I5 is provided with a downwardly disposed V-shaped rib I8 which prevents the device from slipping sidewise although in most cases the upturned edge portions l5 may be sufficient. The rear section I5 is slightly narrower than and its forward end fits into the rear portion of an intermediate section I9 whose construction is generally the same as the rear section I5. These two sections are connected together by rivets 20 which extend through the overlapping rearward and forward ends respectively of the sections I9 and I5. The intermediate section I9 is provided with angle irons 2I, portions of which form upwardly directed side edges for that section.

Forwardly of the intermediate section I9 is another intermediate section 22 having angle irons 23 at its side. The forward end of the section I9 nests in the rear end of the section 22. The angle irons 23 of the section 22 carry inverted U-shaped guides 24 as shown in Figures 1 through 3, which nt over the upwardly extending flanges of the angle irons 2I on the section i9. The forward ends of the upwardly directed flanges of the angle irons 2| are provided with rearwardly open hooks 25. The section I9 can slide forwardly into and upon the section 22. When the section I9 is slid rearwardly to the extended positions the hooks 25 will engage the U-shaped inverted gates 24 and hold sections I9 and 22 in the position shown in Figures 1` and 2.

Sections I9 and 22 are provided with downwardly disposed V-shaped ribs 26 and 2l simi-` lar to the rib I8 in the rear section.

-I There is shown a nose section 28 which has its forwardly converging edges provided with an angle iron 29 which extends entirely about the forward end and along each side of said section. The forward intermediate section 22 is pivotally connected to the nose section 26 by means of rivets 3U. The tip of the nose section 28 is provided with an eye 3| through which a draw rope can be looped for pulling the toboggan. This rope can also be used to tie around a deer or similar animal so that the pull is directly on the game being carried as well as on the toboggan itself.

The nose section 23 is provided with apertured brackets 32 to which are secured ropes 33l by means of which game or other loads can be firmly tied to the toboggan. similarly provided with brackets 34 to which ropes 35 are secured.

The nose section 28, as shown in Figure 5, is provided with a brace 35 at each rear side portion thereof. This brace may comprise a rearwardly extending portion of the angle iron 29. It is noted in Figure that the rearwardly extending portion 36 is curved slightly so that it will engage the horizontal webs of the angle irons 23 and maintain the nose section 28 in an upwardly and forwardly directed position.

In Figure 4 the device is shown collapsed. Section I9 is slid forward to telescope into and rest upon section 22. The nose section 28 is then folded rearwardlyinto section I9, and the rear section l5 is then folded forwardly.

The next embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 6, '1 and 8. It includes a rear section 31, intermediate section 38, 39, 43 and 4|, and a nose section 42. The rear section 31 is provided with laterally disposed angle irons 43 whose vertical webs deine upwardly directed sides for the section. The rear portions of the angles 43 have load tie ropes 44 connected thereto. The section 38 has angle irons 45 in the same manner as the preceding section 31. The rear ends on the angle irons 35 are provided with inverted U-shaped guides 46 in which the angles 43 are slidable so that the sections 31 and 38 will telescope, section 31'being slightly narrower than section 33. The forward ends of the angles 43 are provided withV inwardly directedk pins 41 which serve as limit stops preventing the section 31 from sliding rearwardly and entirely out of the inverted U'- shaped guides 46.

Section 39 is connected to section 38 in the same manner and provides for telescoping of section 3B so that the three sections can telescopically nest one into the other, and section 40 has its rear portion built in the same manner as described in connection with sections 38 and 3S. Section 43 is wider than the other three sections behind it so that they will all telescope into section 4D.

Section 4| is provided with angle iron side members 48 which are connected to the side members of section lil by means of rivets 49 permitting section 4| to swing rearwardly and over section 43.

The nose section 42 is connected to section 4| by means of rivets 52 and these rivets permit the nose section to swing rearwardly over into the section 4|.

When the device is moved to a collapsed position sections 31, 33, 33 and 4i! are nested one into the other in the order recited. The nose section 42 is then swung rearwardly to section 4| and these two sections are: then swung over The rear section I5 is.`

rearwardly into section 31 which is the uppermost of the longitudinally telescoping sections. The widths of sections 4| and 42 are such that they will lie between the narrowest pair of angle iron side members which are the angle irons 43 on the rearmost section 31.

Section 4| has load tying ropes 5| connected thereto, and the nose section 42 has its angle iron edge member 52 provided with apertures through which a draw rope 53 can be placed. The loop 54 of the rope 53 can Ibeslipped around the neck of a deer or the like to facilitate pulling it and also to help keep it on the toboggan.

When an animal is carried on the toboggan and dragged through the woods the device is preferably Vkept as ilexible as possible to follow ground contours and permit relatively sharp turns through thickets and around trees. A considerable amount of lateral give is provided by reason of the fairly loose connections be-` tween adjacent sections.

When the toboggan is used for coasting, it

is preferred that the nose section 42 be keptv in an upwardly inclined position. In this'event the nose section is connected to the next rearward section 4| by straps 55 which bridge the pivots 513 and are secured to the angle irons of sections 42 and 4i by means of bolts 55 having wing nuts 51 thereon, so that the straps 55 can be readily removed. Similarly, sections 4| and 45 are connected by straps 53 which bridge the pivots 43. The straps 58 are preferably permanently connected to the section 4| by loose rivets 53 and connected to the section 4G by bolts t5 having wing nuts 6|. When the bolts 5t* are removed the straps 58 can be swung forwardly to the dotted line position of Figure 6 so that a certain amount of pivotal movement between sections 42 and 4| is permitted when the device is being dragged and also to permit folding of the unit.

In Figures 10 and l1 the structure of Figures- 6 through 8 is shown in a partially collapsed position. Sections 31, 33 and 3Q are telescoped into section 43 by pushing themforwardly. A back rest 62 shown alone in Figure 12 is mounted on the toboggan in the partially collapsed position of Figures l0 and 11. The back rest 62 includes side members 53 which are apertured at 64 to receive the bolts S0 which otherwise connect the strap 58 to the section 46. The lower rear portion of the back 62 is provided with a forwardly directed flange 35 which slips beneath the section 31 and between it and the next overlying section 33. This prevents the sections from sliding rearwardly when the toboggan moves forwardly over the ground.

In Figures 10, 11 and 13 there is illustrated a brace or bracket t6 which can be used in place of the two sets of straps 55 and 58 shown in Figures 6 and '7. The vertical web 51 of the bracket 36 is provided with an aperture 68 which receives one of the bolts 6|) on the section 4t, and the forward end of the web 51 is provided with an aperture 39 to receive one of the bolts 55 on the nose sectionY 42. This also will hold the nose section in an upwardly inclined position.

The collapsed position of the second genera-1 embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 9. When thus collapsed it can also be stowed in a knapsack and readily carried. The back rest 62 normally is not used when the device is utilized as a game carrier since it is not needed and it is too cumbersome to carry.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have pro-vided a collapsible toboggan which is extremely useful for the purposes described above. It may be made of a light weight metal such as sheet aluminum so that it can be carried with comfort and yet be strong enough to carry fairly heavy loads. While I have shown and described angle irons along the edges of the several sections it is to be understood that the sheet metal itself can be turned up at the edges thereby simplifying the construction and maintaining strength and rigidity in each section.

The invention could be advantageously used by military forces. Paratroopers or airborne troops could use them to advantage. If a folding toboggan accompanied each bundle of supplies, the troops could quickly load the supplies on the toboggan and get under cover. Frequently operations of this type may be carried out under re so that any saving of time would be extremely important. One man could pull more supplies to cover with the toboggan than several men might be able to carry the same amount of supplies in a given time.

The toboggan could also be used for hauling Wounded men to safety.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a collapsible toboggan, a plurality of interconnected longitudinally collapsible sections movable longitudinally relative to -each other while remaining connected and having bottom surfaces forming a runner to facilitate the movement of said sections over snow covered surfaces, one of said sections constituting a at nose section at the forward end of said device,-and readily removable bracing means extending between said forward section and the next adjacent rearward section, and maintaining said forward sec-- tion in an upwardly and forwardly disposed position when desired, said bracing means consti- 4 tuting the sole support for maintaining said nose section in an elevated position relative to the other sections.

2. In a collapsible toboggan, a plurality of relatively broad flat sections interconnected for collapsing movement in a longitudinal direction while remaining connected, the foremost of said sections comp-rising a flat nose section pivoted to the next rearward section, and a removable brace member on one of said pivoted sections and engaging the other of said pivoted sections to hold said nose section in an upwardly and forwardly inclined position, said nose section being swingable rearwardly when said brace member is removed and foldable over the remaining collapsed sections into a substantially parallel position to make the toboggan storable in very small compass.

3. In a collapsible toboggan, plurality of relatively broad flat sections interconnected for collapsing movement in a longitudinal direction while remaining connected, the foremost of said sections comprising a flat nose section Vpivoted to the next rearward section, brace structure on one of said pivoted sections and engaging the other of said pivoted sections to hold said nose Section in an upw-ardly and forwardlyI inclined position, said brace structure comprising a bracket bridging longitudinally adjacent portions of said nose section and said next rearwardly disposed section, and a connecting element detachably securing said bracket toV one of said. sections.

WILLIAM H. PAGELKOPF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,583,693 Krafft May 4, 1926 1,629,403 Marwahn May 17,1927 1,903,431 Abbe Apr. 11, 1933 2,464,016 Berg Mair. 8, 1949 2,469,765 Fish May 10, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date '708,395 France May 5, 1931 

